Late in the morning today, a group of around 350-400 Obama supporters gathered on the Delaney Park Strip with a seemingly impossible mission: to come together to create the visual of the Obama logo and the United States flag. What started as an idea only a week ago came to fruition, based on what seemed to be about 40% planning, 40% insipiration and 20% winging-it. The organizers had a good idea of what they wanted to do, and had staked out the outer corners or plot points for both the logo and the flag. Coordinating from the third floor room of a hotel across the street, a handful of Obama staff and volunteers corralled this group of volunteers into place to form the logo. More amazingly, they coordinated a mass exodus from the spot, only to return again and run almost perfectly back into place.

Add to the fact that the air was chilly, and it had taken forty minutes to perform the previous maneuver, which was to create a representation of the United States flag. But everyone present had a belief in the power of what they were doing. They came together with a common goal to create something that in and of itself did not produce anything tangible. It did not raise money, it did not gain publicity (no local media was there other than a photographer from the Anchorage Daily News), and it did not change any minds. But these people were energized, excited and inspired. They had fun, driven by a sense of hope and wonder, and faith that they were merely a small microcosm of power represented in a movement sweeping this country. I thought later as I was processing the photos that while there have been several pro-Obama rallies with hundreds, even thousands, of enthusiastic Obama supporters, I have not seen one pro-McCain rally in Alaska. Sure, there have been a couple lightly attended and access-restricted pro-Palin rallies, but she is not the G.O.P. presidential candidate – though don’t tell her that. No surprise over the lack of visible support for McCain in Alaska – he did only finish fifth in the Republican primary here in February.

For Doug Burns’ photo diary and narrative on the event, visit his piece on The Daily Kos. You can also read the Anchorage Daily News coverage here.